


Apollo's Envy

by pinqaliqo



Series: the dungeon [3]
Category: Big Bang (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Clubbing, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 11:28:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15193802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinqaliqo/pseuds/pinqaliqo
Summary: inspired by se7en's "the one"





	1. prologue

Another can slaved, another can exhausted , a masterpiece completed. He stepped back from the tunne l’ s concrete wall to gaze at the portrait he had just finished and sighed.

Her beautiful face stared back at him with glee in this portrait, stared back at him with an expression that he could only imagine. The more he stared at it though, the more he felt as if something wasn ’ t right and he was quick to realize that it was just that: it was something that he could only imagine. This expression that he had poured out onto the portrait would only remain an illusion while another lucky man out there would simply take it for granted.

His smile washed out at the thought as he looked away. As he gathered all the disheveled cans of spray paint, his younger s ister came running toward him.

“Hyung , hurry up, the cops are coming! ” she hissed.

He took one more glance at the colorful wall before breaking into a run with his sister closely tailing him. But in all honesty, he wasn ’ t worried about getting caught by the police. All he could think about was the painting. All he could think about was her.

Everything would have been perfect if …

“ _ If I could be the one for you . _ ”


	2. one

After working a nine-to-five shift, unwinding at a club was Choi Seunghyun’s idea of a Friday night. He arrived at one of his favorite spots, Club NB2, by himself and reserved a booth while he waited for his friends to come.

 

The first two to arrive were Dong Youngbae and Lee Seunghyun, or Seungri as everyone referred to him.

 

“Who else is coming?” Youngbae asked after they had ordered their drinks.

 

“The whole gang,” Seunghyun said with a twitch of his lips.

 

“Even that guy that Sunae-noona’s dating?” Seungri asked, his nose scrunching in distaste.

 

Seunghyun sighed and nodded. Park Sunae: she was his best friend and acted as a mother figure to everyone in their group of friends. She was one of the sweetest girls he had ever known and he would have been lying to himself if he said that he hadn’t fallen in love with her once in his lifetime. In fact, he was still in love with her to that day. Unfortunately, Sunae was already taken by a Kwon Jiyong.

 

“Too bad you didn’t make the first move. If you did, we wouldn’t have to deal with an asshole like that dude,” a feminine voice joined them, earning a groan from Youngbae.

 

“I should have known your sister was going to come,” he muttered as he dropped his head.

 

Seunghyun’s sister, Choi Jooeun, was accompanied by another close friend of theirs, Kang Daesung, and a new face. From what they could guess, this new face, this new girl, was a part of another one of Jooeun’s plots to get Youngbae a girlfriend.

 

“Hyung, do you remember Im Jihyun?” Jooeun asked her brother as she slid into the booth beside Seungri. Her friend Jihyun and Daesung followed her.

 

“Hi,” Jihyun greeted as she nodded her head at Seunghyun.

 

In the meanwhile, Youngbae silently rejoiced beside him, thinking that this time around, Jooeun was trying to hook her own brother up with her friends instead of him. That is until she introduced Jihyun to him as well.

 

“Be nice to her, Youngbae-ssi. She’s a really nice girl,” she told him as he smiled bashfully at Jihyun and nodded. It would have been rude of him if he were to reject this set up so he went along, just like all the other times when Jooeun introduced her other girlfriends to him.

 

Jooeun continued to introduce her friend to them, to Seungri and to the couple who had arrived late, Jiyong and Sunae. At first, their arrival was awkward but thanks to Daesung's lively mood and to the drinks that were soon served to them, they loosened up.

 

“Do you want to go dance, Youngbae-ssi?” Jihyun asked after consuming her drink. As Daesung made way for Jihyun, Jiyong stood up as well.

 

After seeing the hesitation in the other man’s expression, he wrapped his arm around Jihyun. “If you don’t want to dance with her, I will.”

 

Jooeun glared at Youngbae while Sunae slapped Jiyong’s arm.

 

“Shit, I was just kidding, baby,” he whimpered as he turned to face his girlfriend’s annoyed expression. She turned away from him but he was persistent and wrapped his arms around her neck, ignoring the struggle that she put up. A chuckle emanated from his chest and slowly it regressed into a soft breath of air brushing against her ear. “Baby, want to dance?”

 

Although unfazed by his lust-coated words, she stood up from her seat, took a hold of his hand and pulled him out to the dance floor.

 

“Why don’t you two join them?” Jooeun insisted through gritted teeth as she continued to glare at Youngbae.

 

When Jooeun looked at someone like that, Youngbae knew it was better to not have her repeat herself so he jumped out and led Jihyun to the dance floor as well. Now there were four of them left at the booth, Daesung taking a seat next to Seunghyun who had been quietly brooding.

 

“Hyung, why don’t you go look for someone to dance with?” he asked the older man genuinely. Seunghyun just shook his head and took another gulp of his drink.

 

“Hey, Jooeun, how come you never introduce me to any of your friends?” Seungri asked the girl beside him, earning a look of disbelief from her.

 

“Why would I do that? You’re just like Jiyong,” she scoffed. Then she got up from her seat. “I’m going to go look for someone to dance with.”

 

Seungri clicked his tongue and slid out of his seat to look for his own dance partner as well. “She’s one to talk. She’s like the female version of Jiyong-hyung.”

 

“If you’re not going to look for a partner, you should join us, hyung,” Daesung suggested to Seunghyun as he followed Seungri.

 

“It’s cool. I’ll just look after your stuff. Besides, I just came for the drinks,” he said as he lifted up his cup. “Have fun.”

 

Regardless of the crowd in the club and the music playing in the background, Seunghyun was finally left in peace. But he sat there with expectation creeping over his shoulder, waiting for the next obvious thing to happen in his normal, everyday life. It was the moment when Jiyong went too far and got caught; the moment Sunae slapped the side of his cheek and scurried back to the booth. That moment, those moments.

 

He would have lied if he said he didn’t wait for this to happen just to be able to play the hero for the night.

 

Without a moment to spare, Seunghyun followed her after she collected her things and left. He walked a few steps behind her in silence, giving her space until she arrived at the one place he knew she could try to find her peace of mind. When they arrived there, Sunae placed her back against the tunnel wall and fell to her feet.

 

* * *

 

With his hand caressing his cheek, he looked all over the club for Jooeun. He had expected Sunae to be waiting at the booth but when he arrived there, neither Sunae nor Seunghyun were nowhere in sight.

 

“Jooeun!” Jiyong tried to call out once he arrived near the DJ’s pit. Just as he suspected, she was lounging around with some of the young men there. “Jooeun, did you see Sunae-noona?”

 

The moment Jooeun saw him, she rolled her eyes. She already knew what was up. It was just another re-run for her and the others and it was getting boring.

 

“I don’t know, maybe she finally dumped you,” she responded. “Who was it this time?”

 

“Jihyun? I don’t know,” he grumbled.

 

It seemed like he wasn’t thinking right so Jooeun smacked him on the side of his head.

 

“You know, just for Sunae, I tolerated you but I seriously can’t take it anymore,” she said as she rubbed the back of her hand. “I don’t understand what unni sees in you. She’s a real idiot for falling for an asshole like you.”

 

“Don’t call her an idiot!” he lamely defended.

 

Jooeun laughed. “ _ Now _ you care about her? Suck my dick Jiyong.”

 

“I  _ do _ care about her!” he stated loud and firm as he shot out from his seat and towered over her. He glared down at her with his fists clenching and unclenching.

 

“Creeping up on other girls is a  _ great _ way to show her you care!” she replied sarcastically. She took a step closer to him and narrowed her eyes. “If you cared so much about her, you wouldn’t have let this happen. My brother’s probably out there comforting her right now just like always but this time around he won’t be on your side.”

 

The words were enough to push Jiyong’s buttons and he was really tempted to punch her in the face, but one of the young men she had befriended stepped in and broke them away from another.

 

“Is this guy bothering you, Jooeun?” he asked her, glancing at each of them.

 

“Yes, he is,” she replied clearly, her eyes locked on Jiyong. “But he was just about to leave.”

 

Jiyong kept his gaze on her too, as if challenging her.

 

“You better go look for unni and hope that she’s still willing to give you another chance.”

 

Their staring contest lasted another few seconds until Jooeun finally turned her back on him. The moment she broke eye contact with him, he turned on his heel and rushed to the club’s exit. He had to find Sunae.

 

After being scolded by Jooeun, he realized that he didn’t want to lose her.

 

* * *

 

“Is this what love is, Sunae?”

 

He looked down at her as she sat with her back against the wall and her knees pulled close to her chest. She was still crying.

 

“Is this your idea of love, Sunae? When he makes you cry all the time? When he makes you doubt his promises and vows, when he makes you doubt his faithfulness? It’s not just us, Sunae, but even  _ his own friends _ know that he’s not right for you. If he keeps making you cry like this, he’s not right for you.”

 

She pressed her lips against her knees. “He said he would change for me. It’s just taking a lot of time.”

 

“You’re just wasting your time,” he sighed and held out his hand for her. She was hesitant but she placed her hand in his and he lifted her to her feet then turned her around to face the wall. They were looking at a huge painting of Sunae’s face on the tunnel’s wall. “You smiled like this often, much more often before you got together with Jiyong. Your smile was so bright that it put Apollo’s flames to shame. Every time you smile, Apollo can’t help but envy you, did you know that?”

 

Her sobbing ceased and she let out a giggle. “That’s so corny, Seunghyun.”

 

He continued to stare at the portrait. It was the portrait he painted those couple of nights ago. “Apollo envies you a lot, but when he sees you cry he wants to cry too.”

 

Slowly, Sunae turned to face him once again. Her action caused him to return his gaze back to her and their eyes quickly locked together. Then a sudden impulse to kiss her overcame him. His arms wrapped themselves around her small waist and his lips hovered gingerly over hers. His heart fluttered when she reciprocated the action but was suddenly thrown off when he heard footsteps echoing throughout the tunnel.

 

“Sunae?”

 

It was Jiyong, his voice crying desperately for his girlfriend.

 

Seunghyun quickly broke away from her.

 

“Hyung?”

 

He turned his head to look at Jiyong, his eyes round and blank. When he turned back to look at Sunae’s reaction, he found her gazing at Jiyong as well, her expression brimmed with worry and fear.

 

“Jiyong,” she called out in return.

 

She was hoping that he hadn’t seen them kissing but by the sudden change in Jiyong’s expression, she figured it was too late. He stumbled a few steps towards them before breaking into a run and lifting a fist in Seunghyun’s direction.

 

But Seunghyun was too fast and got his punch in before he could.

 

“Seunghyun!” Sunae cried as she fell to her knees beside the fallen man.

 

Jiyong slowly struggled to get up, his eyes narrowed at Seunghyun. “I trusted you, hyung.”

 

“You know what? Sunae trusted you too,” Seunghyun replied calmly. Even though Sunae’s back was to him, he could tell that she was crying again as she held Jiyong down and wrapped her arms around his neck. So instead of lingering any longer, he walked around them and left.

 

“She trusted you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i tagged oc's names different, but they're basically consistent throughout all my works--they represent the same people, just molded to fit the story. so don't mind if the last names in the story don't match i wrote in the tags--i say as if people are actually reading this ;) also lol i made jooeun call seunghyun hyung who do i think i am.
> 
> and on another note this chapter made me cringe cry


	3. two

The next few weeks became very stressful for Seunghyun.

 

Aside from the extra hours they had given him at work, the one thing that bothered him the most was his friendship with Sunae. Day after day, he would bump into her, but day after day, she would find a way to avoid him. When he found her walking with two friends and tried to approach them, Sunae would stop and turn around which left him desperate.

 

“Sunae, wasn’t that your friend Seunghyun?” he heard one of her friends ask.

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

His heart completely shattered.

 

He tried to get his sisters to talk to her, tried to get Daesung and Seungri and Youngbae to talk to her, he tried to get her friends to talk to her for him—he even asked Jiyong for help after sorting out what happened to them at the club. But it was no use.

 

“Every time I try to bring you up in a conversation, she asks to be excused,” Jiyong informed him, looking at the older man with sympathy. “I’m sorry hyung.”

 

Seunghyun groaned. “No, this was my fault. Thanks for your help anyway.”

 

“Hey, does your sister still hate me?” Jiyong asked before Seunghyun could leave. When Seunghyun raised an eyebrow at him, he scratched the back of his head. “Well, she’s channeling mafia boss vibes so I really don’t want to stay on her bad side.”

 

Seunghyun laughed. “You have nothing to worry about. If she wanted you taken care of, you’d have been gone long ago.”

 

“Oh, cool,” Jiyong simply replied. “I’ll try again with Sunae-noona.”

 

He shook his head. “Nah, don’t push it. I’ll just leave her alone for a while.”

 

Seunghyun bid the man farewell and walked into the driveway where he parked his car. As he backed up into the road and drove away, he could see Jiyong’s figure in his rearview mirror, watching him with a sympathetic look before withdrawing into his home. Seunghyun sighed and focused on the ride home.

 

ᴥ

 

“Wait, you guys actually went out on a date?”

 

Jooeun stared at Jihyun with a doubtful expression on her face. When her friend nodded, she scurried across her kitchen to grab hold of her.

 

“Are you being serious?” Jooeun questioned.

 

Jihyun laughed at her. “Yes, but it wasn’t because he was interested in actually dating me or anything. He just wanted to talk so I listened.”

 

“Really? He doesn’t strike me as a talkative person,” Jooeun told her, pursing her lips.

 

“He’s got a lot on his mind,” Jihyun said.

 

“So what’d you guys talk about?” she asked.

 

“Most of the time, he was complaining about your dating service,” Jihyun laughed. “I don’t know if I should be telling you this, but he already has someone he likes. He’s just too scared to approach her because she doesn’t seem to be interested in him.”

 

“Did he tell you who it was? I could totally hook him up with her!” Jooeun squealed with excitement.

 

“Oh no, not again,” Seunghyun interrupted upon entering his household and checking the kitchen. He greeted Jooeun and Jihyun.

 

“Hi Seunghyun-ssi,” Jihyun greeted him while Jooeun watched with a nasty look.

 

Seunghyun flicked her on the forehead. “You really should leave Youngbae alone.”

 

“I’m just trying to help him,” Jooeun groaned as she rubbed her forehead from the impact.

 

“I’m curious. Why do you bother helping only him? He’s not a hopeless case you know,” Seunghyun said as he took a seat at the kitchen table. The two young women followed suit. “Why don’t  _ you _ go out with him instead?”

 

Jooeun scoffed. “If I was interested in him, I would have done so a long time ago.”

 

“And Youngbae would have been a happier man,” Jihyun chuckled.

 

“What makes you say that?” Jooeun frowned, earning chuckles from her friend and her older brother. She became fed up with the way they were acting and shot up from her seat and walked out of the kitchen. “Hyeyoon-unni, are you done getting ready? We want to leave already!”

 

They listened to her footsteps as she climbed up the stairs to where the eldest Choi child was looming. For Seunghyun, it felt a bit awkward, but the pleasant smile on Jihyun’s face showed that she felt otherwise.

 

“How’s your day?” Seunghyun managed to ask her after enduring a restless silence on his end.

 

“It’s going to get better. We’re going to go shopping with Hyeyoon-unni,” Jihyun replied. “How’s your day?”

 

Seunghyun shrugged. “It didn’t start out too well.”

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

 

He was quick to accept her offer.

 

“It’s just that my best friend has been avoiding me for a few weeks,” he simply stated. When he saw the questioning look on her face, he cleared her throat. “Park Sunae, the other girl that was at the club with us.”

 

“Oh, I think I’ve heard of your story from Jooeun,” Jihyun told him.

 

“I’m not surprised,” he grumbled.

 

“What are you doing about it right now?” she asked him.

 

“I’m just going to give her some space,” he said. “I went to Jiyong’s place for some help, but he said that she just keeps avoiding the situation.”

 

Jihyun nodded. “It makes sense. She’s your best friend and suddenly you kiss her like that. Not to mention, you punch her boyfriend right when he arrives at the scene. She’s probably really confused and at a loss as to what to do right now.”

 

He stared at her.

 

“If I were her, I would have chosen you,” she said with a bright smile.

 

Seunghyun did not know how to take that. He just gaped at her, which did not make her uncomfortable at all. He finally turned away when his older sister and his younger sister finally descended down the stairs and collected Jihyun.

 

“Seunghyun-ssi, you’re not doing anything right now, right?” Jihyun suddenly asked him, stopping at the boundary that separated their kitchen from their living room.

 

He shook his head.

 

“You should go shopping with us. It’ll get your mind off of things,” she said.

 

“That’d be nice,” Hyeyoon said, smiling at her younger brother.

 

Jooeun laughed. “Yeah, you can carry our bags for us.”

 

Although he had gotten the approval from his sisters, he glanced at Jihyun with hesitation in his eyes. It was the smile on her face and her outreached hand that finally convinced him to join them and just like that, it felt like she was a friend he hadn’t seen in so on long. All four of them walked out to the driveway where his car was and climbed in. Seunghyun sat at the driver’s seat and Hyeyoon in the front passenger seat while Jihyun and Jooeun sat in the back.

 

“Girls go shopping when they’re not in a good mood right? You guys should buy me clothes while you’re at it. I have to admit, I’m not in a good mood myself,” he informed them in a manner too playful. “I also want ice-cream.”

 

He glanced up at his rearview mirror and while he heard Jooeun scoff, all he could see was Jihyun, smiling back at him.

 

* * *

 

After dealing with three hours of shopping with Sunae, Jiyong had finally given up. There was no way he could walk another hour in that mall and begged her to call it a day and finally go out for dinner. It took three stores and a lot of begging to finally get her to submit to his pleas and even then, they had to walk all the way to the food court because that was where the nearest mall exit was.

 

“If I went shopping by myself, I’d be out of here in an hour,” he groaned as he leaned against Sunae for support as they walked.

 

“If you went shopping by yourself, who knows what kind of ugly outfits you’d buy,” Sunae retorted.

 

Jiyong scoffed and stood straight, keeping his distance from her.

 

“You’re just jealous because I look good in everything I wear.”

 

Sunae burst out laughing and hit him softly on the arm before grabbing it and pulling him close. She continued to laugh as he struggled to get out of her grasp, but the bright expression soon flushed from her face when the food court came into view. She stopped in her tracks and Jiyong had no choice but to stop as well.

 

“What’s up, babe?” he asked her. He followed her gaze and found a small group taking a seat at one of the tables in the food court. Among them was Choi Seunghyun. Immediately, Jiyong turned back to Sunae and tugged her arm. “Hey, there’s hyung. Let’s go say hi to them.”

 

To his dismay, she resisted and turned her head to glance at the store to their right. She dragged him in there instead and pretended to be interested in what they had to offer—expensive perfume. Jiyong frowned.

 

“What is wrong with you?” Jiyong asked as he followed her around the quaint store.

 

“Nothing,” she replied, her voice lacking in emotion of any kind. “I just suddenly wanted to get a new bottle of perfume.”

 

“You should really talk to Seunghyun,” he said.

 

“You should try this. It smells  _ manly _ ,” she suggested as she sprayed the musky fragrant on his shirt. She was definitely ignoring him.

 

He took a firm hold of her wrist, pried the bottle of cologne from her hand and returned it to the shelf. Then with no further questions, he dragged her out of the store and towards the food court. She struggled but this time, Jiyong kept his firm grip on her.

 

“Jiyong, I still don’t know what to say to him,” Sunae whined. “I’ll talk to him eventually, I promise.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“Promise,” she repeated, her eyes begging and pleading.

 

“Alright,” he said.

 

Sunae felt relieved at the moment, but when he started to drag her again, she put up a fit.

 

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

 

“I want to go home now,” Jiyong said. He looked back to see the frantic look on Sunae’s face. He shook his head furiously. “What’s wrong with you? He’s already gone! Let’s go!”

 

She finally gave in to him and willingly walked beside him but her eyes were focused on the tables in the food court. Her eyes searched for the face she was trying to avoid and just as Jiyong said, he was no longer there. Her heart relaxed. When the time came, she would be able to face him again.

 

* * *

 

“Thanks for the ice-cream, Jihyun. It’s nice to know that I can depend on you when I can’t even depend on my own sisters,” Seunghyun sulked foolishly as he finished the remains of his waffle-cone. Behind him, Hyeyoon and Jooeun smiled innocently as they stepped out of the department store.

 

“Hey, I’ve had my share of bad days,” Jihyun replied.

 

Jooeun then stepped in between them to complain about how Jihyun would just ignore her when she had her bad days. She complained about her friend playing favorites towards her brother, who, for the record, she barely knew. Of course, Jihyun just continued to ignore her, her attention drifting on the backs of a familiar young couple as they exited the mall. She looked up at Seunghyun to see if he had noticed.

 

He bit his lips then turned to Jihyun to meet her gaze.

 

“Can we go to the bookstore?” Hyeyoon suddenly interrupted. “There’s an album I want to buy.”

 

They all agreed to go, changing directions to head to the bookstore. As they headed there, Jihyun tapped Seunghyun on the shoulder.

 

“So, are you going to be okay?” she asked him.

 

He nodded. “I’ll be okay.”


	4. three

> From: Park Sunae
> 
> 2009 -07-27 4:39 PM
> 
> Do you want to talk?  Let ’ s meet at the tunnel at 5.

* * *

 

 

Seunghy un stared at his phone intently and took a seat at the foot of his bed and laughed. It had to be at least two months since he last saw Sunae at the mall. Two ridiculously long months. But nonetheless, he was finally happy to hear from his good friend, regardless of whether the meeting with her would be for the good or the bad.

“ Seunghyun-hyung, Youngbae-ssi ’ s here, ” Jooeun called from downstairs.

He looked away from his phone and placed it on his bedside table. He had to get ready .

* * *

“ He just got out of the shower, so just chill here for now ,” Jooeun said before returning her attention to the television in the living room.

Youngbae  stood stiffly at the doorway, afraid of taking a seat next to Jooeun on the living room couch. He could still remember the many times she tried to beat the name of the girl he liked out of him. It upset him, the first time he heard that Jihyun had shared that kind of information with  her , but he was relieved that Jooeun had no clue who that girl was exactly.

“ It doesn ’ t matter to me anymore, Youngbae -ssi , ” Jooeun stated without removing her eyes from the  television  screen.  It was like she had read his mind.  “ You ’ re a big boy  now; you can ask her out yourself. ”

He stared at her skeptically.

“ Just sit down. I promise  I won ’ t bite anymore, ” she laughed.

He took cautious steps toward her and after four, he took a se at beside her. Although she had persuaded him with a gentle approach, he couldn ’ t help but feel awkward. It was the first time she was actually being nice to him.

“ Youngbae-ssi, can you at least tell me what she ’ s like? ” she asked. This time she turned her head to look at him.

He laughed nervously.  “ Why do you want to know? ”

“ So I can change myself to be just like her, ” she replied, smiling idiotically at him. When he widened his eyes, she laughed.  “ I ’ m just kidding. I ’ m just really curious. ”

“ Well, she ’ s already a lot like you, ” he said, still a bit uneasy.  “ But she ’ s nicer and prettier and smarter. ”

Jooeun fell back in her seat and groaned.  “ That hurts, Youngbae-ssi. ”

“ I learned from you , ” Youngbae grinned, becoming more relaxed.

 

She rolled her eyes and laughed.  “ So, if she ’ s so much greater than I am, why haven ’ t you asked her out yet? ”

“ I don ’ t think she ’ s interested in me at all. ”

At this, Jooeun scoffed.  “ What makes you so sure of that? Have you asked her before? ”

He looked down at his lap and rubbed his knees. He was becoming nervous again.

“ You see, she ’ s always hanging around other guys , ” he started, his voice unsure once again .  “ And s he ’ s set me up with a lot of blind dates before so I just assumed …”

Suddenly, Jooeun became rigid and quiet. A single intake of breath was all that was heard from her as she sank into the sofa ’ s cushions. This was the only way she could think of reacting to  what Youngbae had just admitted to her. Thankfully, her brother finally came down from his room.

“ What took you so long? ” Youngbae asked, breaking away from the cumbersome atmosphere that suddenly blanketed him and Jooeun.

Seunghyun looked at him then looked at Jooeun. “ Sunae texted me. ”

That got both Jooeun and Youngbae ’ s undivided attention.

“ What ’ d she say? ” Jooeun asked.

“ She wants to meet up with me at five, ” he said.

“ That ’ s like, in seven minutes, hyung, ” Youngbae  pointed out.  “ You should have told me. I could have gone to the bowling alley by myself. ”

“ Oh, shit, you ’ re right, ” Seunghyun huffed.  “ Sorry man. I wasn ’ t thinking right. ”

“ Actually,  its okay, ” Youngbae laughed, stealing a quick glance at Jooeun.

While she turned away with wide eyes, Seunghyun took no notice and nodded.

“ I ’ ll go ahead then? Tell the guys I ’ ll be late, ” he said just as he was walking out  the door. Then he was gone.

This left Youngbae and Jooeun alone in the living room. S h e wasn ’ t as lucky as she thought she was.

“ So, what do you think? Do you think it ’ ll be okay if I ask her out ? ”

* * *

Seunghyun entered the small passageway silently, watching a young woman as her eyes scoured the tunnel walls. After two long months, he was finally able to see her again and she was willing to see him as well. That made the meeting even more anticipating.

“ Seunghyun ,” Sunae called out once she  acknowledged h is presence . She smiled softly at him.

“ Hey stranger, ” Seunghyun replied gently.  “ What’s up?”

 

“ Nothing much . I just wanted to see my best friend again , ” she replied. She returned her attention to the tunnel ’ s walls.  O n the wall was the faded image of her.  “ It ’ s such a shame that Apollo ’ s Envy is being washed away like this after two months. The girl in the portrait was really pretty too. ”

“You’re prettier,” Seunghyun simply stated as he examined the artwork as well.

A warm silence fell upon them as they admired the painting and moved closer to one another.

“I’m sorry for avoiding you for two months. I got really scared,” she said in a quiet voice.

“I’m sorry for making it weird between us in the first place,” he said in a tone similar to hers.

She turned to him again and spread her arms apart.

“Hug?”

He watched her for a few moments, raising a questioning eyebrow at her. When she pouted, he smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s good to have you back,” he muttered softly as he rested his head on hers.


	5. epilogue

After working a nine-to-five shift, unwinding at a club was Choi Seunghyun ’ s idea of a Friday night. He arrived at one of his favorite spots, Club NB2, and reserved a booth while he waited for his friends to come. Next to him, Jihyun waited, sipping on a cup of cola.

The first two to arrive were Daesung and Seungri.

“ Who else is coming? ” Daesung asked after they had ordered their drinks.

“ The whole gang, ” Seunghyun said, smirking as he watched them take a seat across from him and Jihyun.

“Does that mean Sunae-noona and Jiyong-hyung are coming too?” Seungri asked, his expression lighting up.

“It’s been a while since the whole gang came together,” Youngbae voiced as he popped up at the booth as soon as their butts hit the cushions of the ir seats . Behind him, Jooeun followed closely.

“Jooeun, what kind of girl did you bring for Youngbae-oppa this time?” Jihyun asked slyly, knowing quite well what her answer was going to be.

“A girl like me,” Jooeun replied nonchalantly after slipping in beside her.

“You mean there are more of you out there?” a scared petrified voice spoke up. This voice was accompanied by a soft giggle.

“If there were more of me, then, the world would be a better  place,” Jooeun answered smugly  as she wa tched Sunae si t across from her. Jiyong remained standing. “It’s better than more copies of Jiyong, right?”

“Definitely,” everyone said in unison.

“I have to agree. If there were more of me, I’d have to share Sunae,” Jiyong replied playfully. Then he pulled her back onto her feet and hugged her. “I’m going to make sure I’m the only lucky guy here to marry Sunae.”

At that moment, Jiyong drew away from Sunae and withdraw a small velvet box from his pocket. Everyone held their breath and watched as he went down on one knee and opened it, revealing the beautiful diamond resting  on  a ring of silver gold.

“Sunae: you; me; together, forever.”

Everyone started to laugh and clap as Sunae simply accepted the proposal and let Jiyong slip the ring onto her finger.

“He’s not even letting you answer,” Jooeun expressed with amusement.

“Noona, run away now,” Seungri wailed as he dropped his head on the table top. 

 

Sunae just ignored them and looked at Seunghyun, her best friend. He was smiling back at her.

“Congratulations.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol what? that was shorter than i expected, what is wrong with me THAT BARELY HAD ANYTHING GOING ON, how disappointing pinq, i'm so disappointed you having jiyong pROPOSE IN A CLUB CLASSIC LOL

**Author's Note:**

> wow this is one of the corniest pieces of shit i ever wrote, but i am proud of it because it was the only multi-chaptered fanfiction i ever completed. everything that preceded it and followed it were one-shots.
> 
> Original creation date: Oct 14, 2009, 11:46am.


End file.
